Daily Lesson for July 13, 2016

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 3 verses 7 through13:

7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

Every generation has its own parting of the waters.

The LORD parted the waters in the great Exodus and all the Israelites who had been slaves in Egypt passed through the Red Sea. With God the impossible became possible as the the Israelites were brought into a new land and a new destiny.

But the Exodus generation passed away; it was now the Joshua generation's day under the sun.  They too would need to cross over the waters and come into their own new land and time.

With each generation there is a crossing over. The LORD calls forth a few priests to step into the waters first. It appears impossibly dangerous and unwise. Indeed it would be, if the LORD was not on their side. But the LORD always is. And He calls them forth into the rushing waters. They struggle step by step at first. They are nearly swept away. But then suddenly their feet settle, they gain their balance even amidst the rushing waters and they stand firm.  And then some courageous soul watching from the banks of the Jordan looks out and says, "Let us follow."

And so another generation finds its Promised Land.

May those with ears to hear let them hear.